Your website represents who you are as a business and shows potential customers what you have to offer. The experience your users have of your site can be the difference between a one-off visit and a long-term customer.
Choosing the right web developer for your business doesn’t have to be tricky, just follow our 10 tips:
- A developer should be eager to understand your business and therefore how much they ask about what you do is an indication as to how well they can represent you.
- If you wish to be able to edit your website yourself then you need to make sure the developer builds it on a platform or CMS (content management system) that allows you to do this easily.
- Perhaps an obvious one, but it is important to look at the developer’s previous work. Check out sites they have designed and see if the look and feel appeals to you and matches your business needs. Look for a personal feel, rather than a generic site that looks akin to most others.
- Mobile friendly sites are a must so be sure to check the developer adopts a ‘mobile first’ approach.
- Does the developer have a systematic process leading you through the design stage? This is important as you need to know what you will be getting and what details are required from you.
- Check if the developer provides copywriting services and look up some of their previous copywriting work. Engaging and relevant copy on your website is important.
- Do they provide SEO (search engine optimisation) services? If they do, enquire how they keep on top of trends and have a look at their previous site rankings for non-brand key terms.
- Check if you own the copyright to the website. They should be able to give you access to the original source files. Not owning the copyright can bring extra costs such as licensing fees.
- Establish clear mile stones for both development and payment. This way you will be clear about when the work is to be signed off and when settlement is due. Be sure to have a legal contract and never pay until the agreed work stages have been successfully completed and tested.
- Will the developer maintain your website once the initial build has been completed? Clarify the cost of essential maintenance and security upgrades etc and compare prices with other providers.
Green Tornado are here to help you put these top tips into action, please contact us on 01277 849161 for further information.
